Biography
Handlebar-mustached character actor Roger C. Carmel was seen in quite a few stage productions of the 1950s and 1960s, including the original Broadway production of
Purlie Victorious. On TV from 1963 on, Carmel is best known to TV fans for his role as villainous Colonel Gumm on
Batman and his portrayal of the petulant title character in the "I Mudd" episode of
Star Trek. During the first season of the 1967-68 sitcom
Mothers-in-Law, Carmel played
Kaye Ballard's husband; when he demanded more money for his services, he was promptly replaced by
Richard Deacon. Busy in the cartoon voiceover field in the 1970s, Carmel was heard as the voice of Smokey the Bear. After several years' inactivity, Roger C. Carmel was found dead in his Hollywood home, the victim of an apparent drug overdose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide